Disappointed by DC??!!

[ChrisG]

I just cancelled my DC standing order for May due to disappointment. Enough is enough. I'll spend my money on something else and not the powers that be retirement fund

Its incredible how DC considers its fans who for years have loyally followed them.

[Mr. White]

I've been a DC fanboy for as long as I can remember. With that said I am finding myself more and more disappointed with the DC books with each passing week to the point that I'm starting to drop books. Just a few dreadful points off the top of my head:
1)Ric Grayson. Enough already. Get the book back on track or put it out of its misery. Art and writing are terrible. DiDio may not like Dick Grayson but his fans sure do.
2)Bat titles have been on a downward spiral since the bat/cat wedding (that should've happened). And Thomas Wayne working with Bane to destroy his son?! F.U.
3)Superman titles. I was for Bendis coming onboard but Rogol Zaar is going nowhere, bringing back Jor-el is ridiculous, the Jon Kent character was destroyed, and now supes can change his hair/face/ethnicity on a whim?! Perhaps he should've been doing that all along instead of wearing glasses as a disguise. These titles are going down the toilet.
4)Heroes in Crisis - Really??!! This last issue and what was done to Wally is unforgivable. A BIG F.U. to Didio and the writers and staff behind that book.
5)Aquaman - story is a boring mess right now. Perhaps amnesiac Andy can hang out with amnesiac Ric and figure out how to star in a title that I can give a rats a$$ about.

DC...you disappoint me. DiDio needs to go and you should take a long look at your writing and editorial staff.

Apart from the good points made here...you my friend get my vote for "post of the day" with this. HAHAHA.

[RickWJ324]

Apart from the good points made here...you my friend get my vote for "post of the day" with this. HAHAHA.

Why thank you kind sir!!

[qwertyuiop1998]

What did Bendis do with Jon Kent? I haven't caught up with the character since Super sons got cancelled.

Aging he up, Now he was a 16(IIRC) years old teenager

[dietrich]

Honestly I'm enjoying a lot of titles currently but yep plenty disappointed.
I pretty much expect comic companies to disappoint so more like expectations met.

Enjoying

Supersons
Deathstroke
BB
RHATO
GL
JL
Tec [As more of a Batman fan I was jealous when the Superverse had Tomasi and we were stuck with Tynion and King so I'm very happy to have him back.]

But really disappointed with

Ric. Nightwing getting derailed for batman plot reasons is not cool
The premature cancellation of Supersons
The Zoom Supersons title.
The shambles that is HIC
Superman and action are enjoyable enough but pissed at 17 year old Jon and some of the writing. I really liked the family dynamic Tomasi set up.

Ric is the one that really cuts the deepest. It sucks not to having decent material with him in right now.

[Vakanai]

Nope, but I don't follow any one title. I only buy trades, miniseries, maxiseries, one offs/one shots, graphic novels, or any other thing that basically means "self contained story", and I only buy those after doing my research on it. I don't worry about single issue floppies and getting every issue of whatever title. I don't like Superman as a dad for instance, I know it's a popular take, but it certainly isn't for me. But I'm not pulling my hair out counting the days sense reigns again and Supes is rightfully childless once more, because I don't need to, I just keep my eye out for Superman stories that are for me. You know what I bought this year? Man and Superman, and it was fantastic! One of the best Superman stories ever penned in my opinion. It's easy to be disappointed in DC if you follow every weekly little thing, but if you just save your money and check out some reviews of new stories first and don't invest in the whole continuity that's been going on for decades thing, you'll find a lot to like from DC too.

[MajorHoy]

Its incredible how DC considers its fans who for years have loyally followed them.

But how long can DC get by on just making fans who "for years have loyally followed them" satisfied? They become a dwindling customer base through attrition (things like the readers getting old and dying, etc.) and sometimes go away because after a while, it seems like writers are just writing the same stories over and over again.

Companies (not just DC) have to find ways to attract new customers who might become the next generation of "loyal followers", and sometimes they'll alienate the long-term buyers by doing that.

It sucks for those older, long-term followers, but trust this old guy: it's nothing new. So many business go for certain demographic audiences because they have the money to spend; older demographics sometimes don't want to or can't spend the money that the company needs to charge to still make enough profit to stay in business.

[lemonpeace]

I'm still somewhat disappointed with the State of diversity and representation in DC, but a little less so then I have been in the past. They still don't have many if any characters of color holding any A-List roles but they do have interesting characters of color at play who could one day (if given the push necessary from DC). I am happy they are pushing some stories in a radically new direction but I am disappointed that for every good new thing done there is something old, tired, and/or bad that comes out. Outside of comics, I'm enjoying a lot of the stuff coming out of DC. Aquaman, Shazam!, Doom Patrol, YJ: Outsiders, Titans (to a lesser extent than the others) all have been extremely enjoyable.

[Lee Stone]

Companies (not just DC) have to find ways to attract new customers who might become the next generation of "loyal followers", and sometimes they'll alienate the long-term buyers by doing that.

Hence, New52.
They know that if they can somehow get new readers while simultaneously driving old ones away, then they can fill the audience with readers that have no expectations and no loved past comics to compare to.

They don't want new readers to grow their established audience.
They want new readers to replace their established audience.

[scary harpy]

But how long can DC get by on just making fans who "for years have loyally followed them" satisfied? They become a dwindling customer base through attrition (things like the readers getting old and dying, etc.) and sometimes go away because after a while, it seems like writers are just writing the same stories over and over again.

Companies (not just DC) have to find ways to attract new customers who might become the next generation of "loyal followers", and sometimes they'll alienate the long-term buyers by doing that.

It sucks for those older, long-term followers, but trust this old guy: it's nothing new. So many business go for certain demographic audiences because they have the money to spend; older demographics sometimes don't want to or can't spend the money that the company needs to charge to still make enough profit to stay in business.

If DC really wants to attract new customers, then where is a new Batman cartoon?

Batman Unlimited was on the right track. A cartoon with action and toys will attract children. We need them to be interested when young.

DC Entertainment Online would be the perfect venue for a new Batman Cartoon; it also has older cartoons, animated movies, older comics and new series. Cartoon Network would not have a chance to sabotage it.

Some of us old guys would enjoy this too. DC is not reaching to either the young or old audience now.

[jyamen]

The Superman titles have been really good. I was, and kinda still am, against the aging of Jon, but its been a solid read for the most part. Same with Action. I'm digging Detective Comics as well and we have Morrison delivering some fun weirdness on GL. Both Titans book are also enjoyable. Other than a few stinkers, I'm still on board for much of DC

[vartox]

I'm actually happier with DC than I've been in a long time! I don't really read any Batman titles and I don't mind Bendis' DC work. The Green Lantern is my favorite book by a long shot in a very long time, and I'm really enjoying Hawkman, Young Justice, Naomi, JL, Aquaman, Wonder Twins, Martian Manhunter and Shazam. I also don't mind HiC but I've never been that invested in Wally.

[Flash Gordon]

I'm IMPRESSED by DC. All the books I read monthly are top notch right now.

Green Lantern, Hawkman, Female Furies, Superman

Cecil Castellucci is taking over BATGIRL. Young Animal is coming back (Far Sector sounds dope). Great stuff coming.

If Aquaman could get back on track and we could get another Mera mini I'd be even happier, but oh well.

Read what you enjoy, discard what you don't. If there's something you're buying out of habit and you've stopped digging it? Just drop it. Lots of great stuff being published in the kingdom of comic books.

[MajorHoy]

. . . They don't want new readers to grow their established audience.
They want new readers to replace their established audience.

Actually, they probably would be more than happy to keep at least some of their established audience as well as add new readers to those numbers, but they have to try and do more than cater to old farts while ignoring a new, younger audience.

It is a gamble, but if companies don't try and branch out to new readers / consumers, the company will eventually just wither and die as more of the old farts die off or leave for other reasons that aren't necessarily related to liking or not liking the product.

[paulojrmam]

Well, in my opinion to get new audiences you need new, different books. Of course, some of the new audience will like the same things the old audience liked, but that means you don't need to change already-liked books/characters. Actual new audience can only come from new characters, books and ideas that your already existing IPs don't cover. In my opinion, DC does well in bringing fresh readers with the new books it releases from time to time. It's in the main properties it's missing a bit.

It might be that a company must branch out to new readers, but there's not a law that states that what worked with a previous reader generation won't work with the next one. In fact, success once is evidence of bigger probability of success again.